Mastering fashion composition: Eight tips for capturing the best shot
Fashion photography can be extremely rewarding, but it is also incredibly challenging. Luckily, we know the ins and outs of how this field ticks, so we’re serving up our very own guide to getting the most out of your fashion snaps.
What are the four different types of fashion photography?
This category of photography can be easily broken down into four different and unique sectors, each with their own style and challenges. They include:
- Catalogue photography: This is not exclusive to fashion, as it can include products, food items, drinks and much more. But purely from a fashion standpoint, this is about making the clothing look superior to the competition and using the subject to make the clothing the hero of the image. Backgrounds should be white or clear to really emphasise the garments on show.
- High Fashion: Think high-end, extravagant shots. There is usually far more creativity allowing in this space as designers are trying to sell collections and ideas, rather than a single item of clothing.
- Street Fashion: A grassroots movement that is very much centred around youth. A style that is far removed from the runway and should feature more urban environments – literally using the streets as your backdrop.
- Editorial Fashion: Perhaps the hardest of all four to master. These images take up entire pages in major publications and need to be more than an image alone; they need to convey emotion and tell an entire story.
Eight tips that will improve your fashion photography
- Composition and lighting matter: Many photographers excel at using the right levels and angles of light to highlight their subject. Others create striking images through composition and the layering of subjects and props. The best photographers combine both.
- Have a collection of props: And ensure your vehicle is loaded up with them for every job.
- Use your environment: Get your subject moving, interacting and playing with the environment around them.
- Create a counterbalance: Add additional models or props to ensure your subject is not left isolated and looking lopsided or out of place.
- Tell a story: Use a theme in your photo shoots to link your images together and try to capture those small moments of emotion that can tell your story for you. A picture CAN speak 1000 words.
- Rule of thirds: A simple trick, divide your screen into nine equal components and place your subject at any of the four points where the lines intersect.
- Break the rules: While these tips will give you the building blocks you need for success, some of the best fashion shots have come from taking risks. Don’t be afraid to follow your artistic sense from time to time.
- Editing matters: No matter how great a photographer you may be, there is going to need to be many hours spent at the computer editing all of your shots to make them their best.
That is where Clipping Path can assist you, slashing the production time and delivering the highest end results possible. If you’re looking for a fashion photo editor, we’re your first port of call.
